The long road to impeachment

How did we get here?

How did we get to an impeachment vote from an Arkansas land dealgone bad?

How was Bill Clinton's presidency jeopardized by a sexualharassment lawsuit involving an incident that allegedly happened ayear before he was elected? How did Clinton's extramaritalrelationship with a White House intern become the source of animpeachable offense?It's complicated, and yet it's simple. The history of theevents that led to the rare vote on impeachment has numerous twistsand turns, but it boils down to one question: Did Clinton lie underoath?Three key dates mark the beginning of the road:Jan. 20, 1994, when Clinton asked that a special prosecutor be namedto investigate his Whitewater land dealings.May 6, 1994, when Paula Jones sued the president, alleging sexualharassment and that he had violated her civil rights.Nov. 15, 1995, when Clinton began a relationship with White Houseintern Monica Lewinsky.At the time, the developments were unrelated. But liketributaries of a great river, they eventually merged in a torrentthat carried Clinton and the nation to today's impeachment vote.WHITEWATERIn 1979, Bill Clinton, who was then the attorney general ofArkansas, and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, entered into anagreement with their friends, Jim and Susan McDougal, to buy anddevelop property along the scenic White River in northern Arkansas.They called the venture the Whitewater Development Corp.It lost money - lots of money. In 1992 the Clintons sold theirinterest for a capital gain of $1,000.In the meantime, Jim McDougal presided over a savings and loanthat failed, costing taxpayers up to $65 million. His MadisonGuarantee Savings & Loan employed Hillary Clinton for its legal work.Whitewater first entered the national vocabulary when BillClinton was running for president in 1992. Reporters suggested theClintons took improper tax deductions, and that the McDougalsimproperly subsidized the Clintons' losses.Clinton's campaign, however, showed the couple lost $68,000 onthe deal, and Clinton went on to win his first term as president.That wasn't the end of it. In July, 1993, White House counselVince Foster killed himself. Because he was a longtime friend of theClintons' who knew about their Whitewater transactions, Republicanssuspected he was depressed about that and other controversies. Someeven suggested it might not have been suicide.The pressure to appoint a special prosecutor mounted, andClinton asked for one in January, 1994. Attorney General Janet Renochose Robert Fiske, who concluded Foster killed himself and found nowrongdoing by the Clintons.But in August, 1994, a three-judge federal panel replaced Fiskewith a man whose name now is a familiar part of the politicallandscape: former Bush administration Solicitor General KennethStarr.Starr was asked to investigate a variety of matters, includingthe Whitewater venture and whether the Clintons broke any lawsresponding to federal probes of it. He also was asked to look intowhether Bill Clinton as governor misused loans for political purposesand whether Hillary Clinton broke the law while an attorney onWhitewater and in misplacing her legal records after Starr subpoenaedthem.PAULA JONESAccording to Jones' lawsuit, she was a 24-year-old state clerkfor the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission in 1991 when BillClinton, then the Arkansas governor, tried to get her to engage inoral sex in a Little Rock hotel room.She said she rejected him. According to her complaint, Clintonsaid to her, "You are smart. Let's keep this between ourselves."Jones didn't go public with her allegations until February,1994, at a meeting in Washington of a conservative group. That wasafter the American Spectator magazine published the allegations of agroup of Arkansas state troopers who said they helped Clinton arrangesexual encounters with women.In the article, the troopers said a woman identified only as"Paula" met Clinton in the hotel room and later offered to be his"regular girlfriend." Jones said her lawsuit, which was filed inMay, 1994, and demanded $700,000 in damages, was motivated by adesire to clear her name.Clinton denied the allegations and fought the lawsuit byattacking Jones' credibility and motives. In one oft-repeated quote,Clinton adviser James Carville said, "Drag $100 through a trailerpark and there's no telling what you'll find."Clinton also adopted a strategy of delaying the lawsuit - thefirst of its kind against a sitting president involving personalconduct alleged to have taken place before he was elected. Hislawyers argued the president should be temporarily immune from civillawsuits relating to unofficial acts.As part of the suit, Jones' lawyers demanded he detail sexualrelationships he might have had with other women, hoping to show thealleged incident with Jones was part of a pattern. Clinton arguedthat information was irrelevant, but in December, 1997, a federaljudge said he must answer.When asked by Jones lawyers to identify any federal employeeswith whom he had had sexual relations, Clinton, under oath, said Dec.23 that there were none.Clinton's legal moves kept the matter off the front pages untilafter his re-election. But in January, 1997, lawyers for both sidesargued their case before the U.S. Supreme Court, and the public tooknotice. And on May 27, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled the caseshould proceed.Three days earlier, Clinton ended his sexual relationship with aWhite House intern named Monica Lewinsky, according to Lewinsky'stestimony.MONICA LEWINSKYLewinsky arrived at the White House in June, 1995, as a21-year-old unpaid intern in the office of Chief of Staff LeonPanetta. A month later, according to her testimony, she began whatshe called "intense flirting" with Clinton.Their sexual relationship began that Nov. 15 in the middle ofthe government shutdown caused by the budget showdown betweencongressional Republicans and Clinton. Only essential workers - andunpaid interns such as Lewinsky, who took on additional tasks - wereallowed to work.According to Lewinsky, she made eye contact and talked alonewith the president when he came to see Panetta and attend an informalstaff birthday party. At one point that evening, she flashed him thestraps of her thong underwear. They had their first sexual encounterlater that night, according to her testimony.Lewinsky eventually was hired, and she and Clinton had a seriesof sexual encounters near the Oval Office in early 1996, shetestified. In April, however, she was transferred to a job in thePentagon because a deputy chief of staff thought she was spending toomuch time around the president. She had no further sexual encounterswith Clinton that year.After Clinton's re-election, the sexual relationship brieflyresumed in early 1997, according to Lewinsky. In May, however,Clinton ended their relationship amid fears Lewinsky had not beendiscreet.An increasingly bitter Lewinsky tried to restart the sexualrelationship, but although they saw each other several times and shewrote him letters and gave him gifts, he refused. She also tried butfailed to get her White House job back.She asked Clinton for help finding a job in the private sectorin New York. Clinton friend Vernon Jordan helped arrange someinterviews.That process was still under way Dec. 5, 1997, when the PaulaJones lawsuit collided with the Monica Lewinsky affair for the firsttime. On that day, Jones' lawyers identified Lewinsky as a possiblewitness in the civil case.TWO KEY MONTHSEvents moved quickly in December, 1997, and January, 1998. OnDec. 15, Jones' lawyers asked Clinton to produce documents related tocommunications between him and Lewinsky. Four days later, Lewinskywas served with a subpoena to appear at a deposition in the Jonescase and turn over gifts from Clinton. She immediately calledJordan, who continued to help her find a job.On Jan. 7, Lewinsky, allegedly at the suggestion of Clinton,signed an affidavit in the Jones case denying she had a sexualrelationship with Clinton. In a civil deposition on Jan. 17, Clintondenied he had engaged in a "sexual affair," "sexual relationship" or"sexual relations" with Lewinsky.How did Jones' lawyers find out about Lewinsky? The answer wasLinda Tripp, a friend of Lewinsky's who also had been transferred tothe Pentagon from the White House. Lewinsky had been talking toTripp about the affair since October, 1996.Intermediaries put Tripp in touch with Jones' lawyers. And theyalso helped her contact Starr on Jan. 12, when she turned over tapedconversations between herself and Lewinsky. The next day, Trippwore a wire for the FBI and recorded another conversation withLewinsky.On Jan. 16, Starr received permission from the three-judge panelthat appointed him to investigate whether Lewinsky or others lied,obstructed justice, intimidated witnesses or otherwise broke the lawin relation to the Jones case.The news of Starr's expanded probe broke five days later.During a White House news conference Jan. 26, Clinton said, "I didnot have sexual relations with that woman. . . . I never toldanybody to lie."Starr convened a grand jury the next day.THE GRAND JURYStarr had been busy since being named special prosecutor,racking up convictions or guilty pleas of eight people for fraud,bribery and conspiracy. But he hadn't leveled any criminal chargesagainst the Clintons - and still hasn't, despite spending more thanfour years and more than $40 million on the investigation.But part of Starr's mission was to disclose to Congressinformation that might be grounds for impeachment. And as he saw it,Clinton committed several impeachable acts in an effort to concealhis relationship with Lewinsky.Tripp's tip to Starr was that Lewinsky lied in the Jones caseand that she was trying to get Tripp to lie as well. She also saidLewinsky had spoken to Clinton and Jordan was helping Lewinsky find ajob.Starr's grand jury moved quickly to investigate, even though afederal judge dismissed Jones' lawsuit in April. She appealed, butlater settled the case.On July 17, Clinton was subpoenaed to testify before the grandjury. On July 28, Lewinsky was given immunity from prosecution inexchange for her testimony, and Clinton agreed the next day totestify from the White House.Lewinsky appeared before the grand jury Aug. 6. Clinton followedAug. 17, testifying for more than four hours. Later that day, hestunned supporters by admitting that he had had a relationship withLewinsky that was "not appropriate."The following month, Starr's report was released to Congress,which authorized its release over the Internet. Starr barelymentioned Whitewater, his original assignment, but he said there was"substantial and credible information supporting . . . grounds forimpeachment" regarding Clinton's behavior in the Lewinsky matter.Clinton denied he lied about having sexual relations withLewinsky, arguing the term meant sexual intercourse. He deniedtrying to influence other grand jury witnesses. He denied trying tofind a job for Lewinsky.The House voted Oct. 8 to conduct an impeachment inquiry. Andthe House Judiciary Committee voted essentially along party linesearlier this month to approve four articles of impeachment.WHAT HE FACESThe first article alleges Clinton committed perjury before thegrand jury. The second alleges he committed perjury in the Jonescase.The third charges he obstructed justice by inducing Lewinsky tofile a false affidavit, helping her find a job in an effort to winher cooperation and misleading key aides who were going to appearbefore the grand jury.And the fourth charges he abused the power of his office bycommitting perjury.Contributing: Library Director Terri Golembiewski